Making of a rare Stephen Curry dunk: ‘Doesn’t just...

1of12Team Giannis' Stephen Curry, of the Golden State Warriors, goes up for a reverse two-handed dunk at the 2019 NBA All-Star Game in Charlotte, N.C.Photo: David T. Foster III / Charlotte Observer / TNS

2of12Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors slips and falls on a breakaway during a 130-111 win over the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center on Jan. 21.Photo: Harry How / Getty Images

3of12Stephen Curry of Team Giannis dunks at the 68th NBA All-Star Game in Charlotte.Photo: Peter Zay/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

4of12Stephen Curry dunks the ball during a drill with young players in Manila in September 2015.Photo: Noel Celis / AFP / Getty Images

5of12Stephen Curry goes up for a dunk at the Warriors practice facility in Oakland.Photo: Michael Macor / The Chronicle

7of12Stephen Curry dunks for Team Giannis in the NBA All-Star Game in Charlotte, N.C.Photo: Streeter Lecka / Getty Images

8of12Stephen Curry flies to the rim to dunk with Garrett Temple in tow during a Warriors-Wizards contest in 2016.Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez / The Chronicle

9of12Stephen Curry dunks in the second half as the Golden State Warriors played against the Los Angeles Lakers in 2016.Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez / The Chronicle

10of12Stephen Curry flies to the rim to dunk with Garrett Temple in tow during the second quarter of the Golden State Warriors game against the Washington Wizards in 2016.Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez / The Chronicle

11of12Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors hangs on the rim after dunking the ball on Gerald Wallace of the Boston Celtics in 2015.Photo: Ezra Shaw / Getty Images

12of12Golden State Warriors Guard Stephen Curry up for a dunk against the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2017.Photo: Torrey Purvey/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Warriors guard Stephen Curry turned toward his teammates celebrating on the bench, covered his ears with his hands and mouthed, “Oh, my God,” as he ran back on defense.

One might expect that reaction from Curry after he drained a deep 3-pointer late in a close playoff game. But in this instance, Curry was reveling in a basic two-handed dunk that he threw down with no one around him.

Dunking, a perfunctory skill for most NBA players, has long been a luxury for Curry. Though he practices it daily, the two-time MVP requires a specific set of circumstances — gobs of space, plenty of time, the proper grip on the ball, a sufficient lead — to even attempt a dunk in a game.

Not including his reverse dunk in the waning seconds of Sunday’s All-Star Game, Curry’s rudimentary slam Thursday against Sacramento was his first of the season. That matches his total from last season and eclipses the zero he threw down in 2011-12 and as a rookie in 2009-10.

A decade into a Hall of Fame career, Curry is 26-for-29 on dunk attempts. Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook, perhaps the most aggressive point guard in the league, has made as many dunks in his least prolific season (2009-10) as Curry has in his entire professional life.

“It doesn’t just happen by accident,” Curry said of dunking. “It takes every bit of my attention. It’s not like, ‘Oh, I’m up here. Let me just dunk it.’”

Added Golden State head coach Steve Kerr: “More than anything when he dunks, it’s just relief that it goes in.”

Unlike many NBA players who consider their first dunk one of their fondest memories, Curry doesn’t quite remember when he first hammered a ball through a 10-foot-high hoop. His best guess put it sometime during his freshman year at Davidson.

The problem wasn’t Curry’s jumping ability, which is actually much better than many might assume. He boasted a vertical leap of 35½ inches — 7½ inches better than the NBA average — at the pre-draft combine in 2009. Curry’s backcourt mate, Klay Thompson, has 19 dunks this season despite having just a 26½-inch vertical.

OAKLAND, CA - JANUARY 31: DeMarcus Cousins #0 of the Golden State Warriors runs up court against the Philadelphia 76ers at ORACLE Arena on January 31, 2019 in Oakland, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)

Photo: Lachlan Cunningham, Getty Images

The 6-foot-3 Curry has only average-size hands for his build, which can make palming the ball tricky. Getting a dunk off cleanly requires the time and space to ensure he has a firm grip.

“I’ve had some fastbreak dunks where somebody’s been near me,” Curry said, “but there’s a reason I’ve never dunked on anyone.”

In September 2014, after finishing his shooting routine with 10 free throws, Curry made eye contact with player-development coach Bruce Fraser and pointed toward the rim. Fraser tossed a lob and was amazed to see Curry finish the alley-oop with relative ease.

Saturday’s game

Who: Houston (33-25) at Warriors (42-16)

When: 5:30 p.m. TV/Radio:Channel: 795.7

Harden questionable

Houston guard James Harden is questionable for Saturday’s game against the Warriors at Oracle Arena because of a cervical strain in his neck.

Harden scored 30 points Thursday in the Rockets’ loss to the Lakers — his 32nd consecutive game reaching that mark. He played 37 minutes and received treatment on his right shoulder and neck during the game.

— Chronicle staff

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It has been part of his routine ever since. On the rare occasions that Curry misses the dunk, it’s usually because of a misplaced lob from Fraser or one of the video interns.

“It’s funny,” Fraser said. “You get guys like JaVale McGee, and they want to shoot threes. Then you’ve got a small guy like Steph, and he wants to dunk. Steph actually can jump and dunk pretty well when his legs are fresh.”

Because his dunks are so infrequent, Curry gets nervous when he sees a wide-open driving lane and decides to go up for one. Last month at Staples Center, after nabbing a steal and darting into an empty half-court, he felt some butterflies as he briefly envisioned the highlight-worthy slam he was about to throw down.

But as he planted his feet to jump, Curry slipped on a wet spot — the potentially dangerous result of the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings playing a game there just hours earlier. Curry stood up, caught a pass from Andre Iguodala and promptly air-balled a corner 3-point try.

During an appearance on James Corden’s “The Late Late Show” the following night, Curry explained, “In my head, I knew I was about to do something crazy, like a 360 dunk I’ve never done in my life. And, uh, it just didn’t happen.” Before replaying video of the blooper, Corden said, “You did something where I’m going to say it gave me hope because you did something, and you proved that you’re actually a human being.”

The lingering memory of that botched attempt made Curry reluctant to try another one. In last week’s win over Utah, Curry planned to dunk on a breakaway, only to change his mind at the last second and lay it in. Kerr, who could tell Curry’s initial intentions based on his stride length, stood up and jokingly slow clapped.

On Sunday, Curry was determined to put on a show for his hometown crowd at the All-Star Game in Charlotte, N.C. Video went viral of him tossing himself an alley-oop during warm-ups and throwing down a 360-degree dunk. On the game’s final play, Curry served himself up with an alley-oop reverse slam, hanging on the rim for emphasis.

Asked Thursday about his latest, more basic dunk, he said, “All I needed was to see one go in in Charlotte, so watch out.”

Connor Letourneau moved to the Golden State Warriors beat in September 2016 after a year covering Cal. Previously, he spent two years covering the Oregon State Beavers for The Oregonian. Letourneau is a University of Maryland alum who has interned for The Baltimore Sun and blogged for The New York Times. A Portland, Ore., native, he is interested in telling the stories that extend beyond the field or court.